The work of artist Tim Biskup is characterized by a “constantly changing” style that synthesizes abstract, figurative painting, and graphic elements, often featuring unique creatures like monsters and cyclops presented in a saturated, nuanced palette. His aesthetic, which has been described as “Baroque modernism,” fuses modern, stretched forms with an “over abundance of details” and micro-blobs, rejecting minimalism for a “maximum modernism” approach. Biskup draws inspiration from a range of sources, including the surreal universes, or “inscapes,” of painter Roberto Matta, which he credits as a major influence that showed him his future in art. This independent vision is materialized in his Los Angeles project space and shop, Face Guts, which he opened to break from conventional galleries and foster deeper, more direct connections with his audience, serving as a hub for his artistic activity. Biskup’s decades-long history in music, playing in punk rock bands and running his own record label (Duck Butter Records), instilled a DIY attitude that heavily influences his approach to art, where he treats creative impulses, whether visual or auditory (often exploring the “noisy and experimental side of music”), as fundamentally part of the same aesthetic idea.
First album you bought?
Circle Jerks – Group Sex (mom made me return it but I secretly bought it again)
Last album you bought?
SML – How You Been
First concert?
Smothers Brothers at Magic Mountain (early 70s)
45 Grave (first show without parental accompaniment)
Last concert?
SML at Zebulon (Night 1)
Was there one album that made a significant impression on you?
Current 93 – Dogs Blood Rising
Who is your musical hero?
Steven Stapleton (Nurse With Wound)
How important is music to your creative process?
It’s fully integrated. I make music and listen to specific albums in order to inspire specific effects on my visual work.
BONUS: What is your favorite album cover of all time (and why)?
Shorty Rogers Courts the Count (James Flora illustration)
This cover stopped me dead in my tracks and I actually said “This is going to change the way I think about art” out loud to my friend in the record shop. It was true. Sadly, the music is pretty boring.
BONUS #2: Any visual artist(s) you’d like to see answer these questions?
Elvis Aaron Jupin
Eric White
Niki Ford
SML – Taking Out the Trash
Kuniyuki Takahashi – Newwave Project #9
Airto – Virgin Land
Milan W – Days in My Arms
Jamie XX – The Feeling I Get from You
Slim Gaillard – This Is My Love
Revolutionaries – Kunta Kinte Dub
Dungen / Prins Thomas – Kalifen (Version)
Kool Keith – F-U M.F.
Nurse With Wound – Cooloorta Moon
Squarepusher – Psultan (Played at 33)
Batillus – Concrete (Andy Stott Remix)
Minutemen – Search
Pentangle – Wedding Dress (RTBF TV 1973)
Florence Adooni – Mam Pe’ela Su’ure
Phill 2 – KTL
Jay-Jay Johanson – Cheetah
Flipper – Sacrifice
Leon Thomas – The Creator Has a Master Plan (Live in Berlin)
Keith Fullerton Whitman – Disingenuousness
Drumcorps – Pig Destroyer Destroyer
Arve Henriksen – Bird’s Eye View
Thee Oh Sees – Stinking Cloud
Dorian Concept – Booth Thrust (Live)
John Wizards – Leuk
De La Soul / Biz Markie – Stone Age
Chrystal Belle Scrodd – Deadroads/A Gothic Western
Chas Smith – Nakadai
Big Butter – Astral Scratch
Bitchin Bajas – Island in the Sun (Sun Ra)
Mamman Sani – Five Hundred Miles
Check out Tim’s playlist below on Spotify. Be sure to like Background Noise on Facebook for updates on future episodes. You can browse ALL the Background Noise episodes right here.
